In 1888 Mr. and Mrs. Adolf and their two Russian born children, Danny age 3 and Katie age 1, came to America.  They made their first home in Scotland, South Dakota, where others of their nationality had settled.  Here Mr. Adolf worked as a shoemaker. 

    In March 1890, the Adolf family along with others came to Burlington and started what is now known as and called the "German Settlement," an area north and east of Bethune.  The new railroad had just come through this new country.  August and Kathrina were the second family to claim a homestead.  The first family was Mr. and Mrs. Christ Dobler.  Soon afterwards the Strobels, Schaals, Baltzers and others also homesteaded. 

    The settlers first homes were dugouts with planks covered with sod serving as the roof.  Rattlesnakes were their constant danger.  Later on they plowed the ground making large clots of dirt.  They would shape them into squares and stack them one on top of another making a wall.  The roofs were also planks covered with sod. 

    Still later on, they made the houses out or adobe.  This was a mud and straw mixture.  A large round vat shaped place was made in the ground to which dirt, water and straw were added.  Horses were led to walk around and around in the vat to mix the mud mixture until it was the right thickness.  Then it was cut into blocks.  These blocks were then carefully piled about one foot high around the desired size of the room wanted.  After it had dried sufficiently another foot of adobe was added and so on until it was the desired height.  Sometimes a shingle roof would be added.  Others would just use mud covered planks.  Some two story houses would be built 
this way. 

    On May 8,1890, Mr. and Mrs. Adolf's son, A.W. Adolf, was born.  He was the first white baby to be born in the Settlement.  There were no doctors in this area, so all new babies were delivered by women who were called midwives.  One of the first was Grandmother Yale. The first doctor to come to this area was Dr. Gillette.  However, before he came the settlers relied on home remedies.  It was remembered that about six years after the came, diphtheria struck heavily and many died.  Wahls lost three children, Strobels lost one, August Adolf, Sr., lost one and others whose names cannot now be recalled. 

    August Adolf was a shoe cobbler and besides caring for his cow, two horses and what little feed he could raise, he walked to Burlington every morning and home every evening for the approximate earnings of twenty five to seventy five cents a day.  Many times he carried a sack of food home.  A 50 lb sack of flour could be bought for 75 cents.  A two year old steer sold for $10-00.  Good cows also sold for around $10.00. Horses were scarce and were treasured.  Their water was hauled by wagon from the Republican River. 

    There were no buffalo left in this area, but there were hundreds of antelope.  There was only one gun in the Settlement, a .32 rifle owned by Gottlieb Bauder.  It was used by anyone wanting to hunt. 

    The women spun their own yarn from the few sheep that they raised.  All the socks, caps, coats, sweaters, etc., were hand knitted. 

     The mattresses for the beds were filled with either straw or corn shucks.  If the crops had been good, they were filled with new straw each year. 

    Fire was a great hazard in those days.  A plow, barrel of water and gunny sacks were their fire fighting equipment.  One bad fire recalled was one which started at Yuma, Colorado, and was never stopped until it reached the railroad at Cheyenne Wells, Colorado; it had even jumped the Republican River.